Comb cleaner comprising an oscillating cleaner element which traverses the interstices of the comb



F. E. HUMMEL Aug. 21, 1951 2,564,847 MENT COMB CLEANER camrsmc AN OSCILLATING CLEANER ELE wmcn TRAVERSES THE INTERSTICES OF THE COMB Filed April 27, 1948 Patented Aug. 21, 1951 COME CLEANER COMPRISING AN OSCILLAT- ING CLEANER ELEMENT WHICH TRAV- ERSES THE INTERSTICES OF THE COMB Frederick E. Hummel, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 27, 1948, Serial No. 23,544

4 Claims.

This invention has to do with an instrument for cleaning combs, and its primary object is to provide a device of that character which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate, in addition to being durable, compact and highly effective.

In its preferred embodiment, my invention is characterized in that the comb to be cleaned is held in suitable positioning notches in the two arms of a U-shaped sheet metal resilient member constituting the frame of the device-which frame is adapted to be held in one hand. A propeller shaft consisting of a strip of sheet metal journaled at one end in one arm of the frame is twisted at the other end to form a screw-like helix which passes through and engages a slot in the other arm of the frame, and is thus adapted to rotate, first one way and then the other, as the frame is squeezed and released, alternately; and a multi-blade cleaner element is mounted on and carried by the propeller shaft and arranged to be oscillated thereby through a suitable angle, whereby it is caused to move back and forth laterally of the comb teeth, so that the blades of the cleaner element pass repeatedly through the interstices of the comb and thereby dislodge the detritus accumulated therein.

In the drawing which accompanies this specification:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view depicting th subject cleaning device with a comb mounted thereonthe comb being shown in phantom;

.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation; and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged details showing how the propeller shaft is secured and journaled in one arm of the resilient frame.

The device illustrated comprises a frame ill consisting of a generally U-shaped punching of spring-tempered sheet steel, small enough to fit comfortably within the palm of a persons hand and thin enough so that the arms Illa and lb can be forced together without excessive effort.

The two arms Mia and [0b are provided, respectively, with mutually aligned V-shaped notches I I and [2 adapted to function, conjointly, as a nest for a comb l3, with th teeth thereof projecting downwardly when the device is held in the posture in which it is shown. It is to be understood that the device is not necessarily held in that posture; and, in fact, it is more likely to be held in some other posture, in one of the users hands, while the comb is held in place with the other hand.

For the purpose of limiting the extent to which the two arms Illa and lllb'can be pressed together, each said arm is perforated to form lugs I4 and I5, whichare disposed oppositely and thus arranged to abut and limit the closing movement. Said lugs are not indispensable, but they serve to prevent the user from doing more work than is necessary, since any additional squeezing of the frame accomplishes nothing. And, in addition, the lugs restrict the stress on the frame and thereby improve its life expectancy.

Said arms Illa and lb may also include, at each end, overlapping end pieces l6, H, which serve to hold the arms in true alignment, against possible distortion. Said end pieces may, if desired, be omitted.

The free ends I00 and Hid of the resilient arms preferably are turned inwardly, as shown, in order to provide more extensive bearing surfaces for the comb.

Bridged between the two arms Illa and lllb is a propeller shaft [9 consisting of a formed sheet metal strip. The arm lllb is provided with a circular opening at 20 (see Fig. 4) and said propeller shaft is reduced in width at 2| where it passes through said opening, so that it fits therein freely. Th width reduction at 2| results ina pair of shoulders 22 which serve as abutments for a washer 23 situated at the inner side of arm Illb. Another washer 24 is mounted on the reduced portion 2! at the outer side of arm [0b and is held in place by virtue of two ears 25 and 26 which are formed by slitting the end of the propeller shaft and then bending the two halves in opposite directions.

The propeller shaft i9 is twisted at 30 to form a screw-like helix which, fits slidably in a rectangular opening at 3| in the arm Illa; and it will be apparent that as the two arms Illa and Nb are moved toward and away from each other, the propeller shaft is rotated, first one way and then the other. The angle of rotation is determined, in part, by the pitch of the helix, and since only a relatively small angular movement is required, the pitch may be quite large.

A cleaner element 32 is attached at one end to propeller shaft 19 and is adapted to be oscillated thereby from side to side about the axis of said shaft. As shown, said cleaner element consists of a, series of laterally spaced spring steel blades 33, being very thin and flexible and adapted to pass, individually, through the interstices intervening the comb teeth. As the blades move back and forth across and between the comb teeth they effectively dislodge any deposits of detritus that may be present.

I have shown the cleaner element 32 as being made of thin, flexible steel blades, of the order of .002" in thickness; but said blades may equally well consist of spring steel wires, or they may be constituted, for example, of nylon bristles.

The comb is cleaned a few teeth at a time and is moved lengthwise through notches II and I2, progressively, until all the interstices have been cleared of detritus.

It will, of course, be evident that my invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and should not be regarded as limited to the specific embodiment illustrated.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A comb cleaner comprising: a frame adapted to support a comb in position for cleaning, said frame including a pair of relatively movable arms, a propeller shaft bridging said arms and journaled on one of said arms, one end portion of said propeller shaft having a helix in screw thread engagement with the other of said arms whereby said shaft is rotatable in response to relative movement of said arms, and a cleaner element carried by said shaft and consisting of 'a plurality of laterally spaced blades adapted to pass through the interstices of the comb teeth.

"2. The combination in a comb cleaner, of a frame comprising a generally U-shaped resilient sheet metal member having means for supporting and positioning a comb for cleaning, the arms of said frame being movable manually toward and away from each other, a propeller shaft consisting of a strip of sheet metal bridging said arms and journaled on one of said arms, a portion of said shaft being twisted to form a screw-like helix slidably fitting an opening in the other of said arms, in screw thread relation thereto whereby said shaft is rendered rotatable in response to movements of the last-mentioned arm lengthwise thereof, and a cleaner element mounted on and carried by said shaft between said arms and in operative relation to said comb, said cleaner element being reciprocable rotationally by said shaft and including a series of laterally spaced blades adapted to pass through the interstices of the comb teeth.

3. The combination in a comb cleaner, of a frame comprising a generally U-shaped resilient sheet metal member having a pair of arms adapted to move toward and away from each other and notched to form a nest for reception and positioning of a comb to be cleaned, a propeller shaft consisting of a strip of sheet metal bridging said arms and journaled on one of said arms, a portion of said shaft being twisted to form ascrew-like helix slidably fitting and in screw thread relation to a non-circular opening in the other of said arms whereby said shaft is rendered rotatable in response to movements of the last-mentioned arm lengthwise thereof, and a cleaner element mounted on and carried by said shaft between said arms and in operative relation to said comb, said cleaner element being reciprocable rotationally by said shaft and including a series of laterally spaced blades adapted to pass, individually, through interstices of the comb teeth.

4. The combination in a comb cleaner, of a frame comprising a generally U-shaped resilient sheet metal member having a pair of co-operating arms adapted to be moved toward and away from each other and each of said arms being notched to form a nest for reception and positioning of a comb to be cleaned, a propeller shaft consisting of a strip of sheet metal bridging said arms, one end of said propeller shaft being reduced in Width to form a bearing portion which is journaled in one of said arms and defined at one end by a shoulder, a washer mounted on said bearing portion and positioned by said shoulder at the inner side of said last-mentioned arm, a second washer mounted on said bearing portion at the outer side of said arm, the free extremity of said bearing portion being split and bent to form two ears for retaining said second washer on said bearing portion and for retaining said propeller shaft in place, the other end of said propeller shaft being twisted to form a screw like helix slidably fitting and in screw thread relation to a non-circular opening in the other of said arms whereby said shaft is rendered rotatable in response to movements of the last-mentioned arm lengthwise thereof, and a cleaner element mounted on and carried by said shaft between said arms and in operative relation to said comb, said cleaner element being reciprocable rotationally by said shaft and including a series of laterally spaced blades adapted to pass individually through interstices of the comb teeth.

FREDERICK E. HUMMEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 903,691 Fevola Nov. 10, 1908 1,280,821 OLeary Oct. 8, 1918 1,590,842 McMillin June 29, 1926 1,921,002 Ozabal Aug. 8, 1933 2,175,986 Crawford Oct. 10, 1939 

